Blog

I had the honor of being invited by Canon Middle East to their filmmaking panel during CABSAT 2014, and it was even bigger of an honor to have shared it with filmmakers I respect such as Ali F. Mostafa (City of Life), Ashraf Ghori (Xero Error), Egyptian actor Khaled Abul Naga among others from Canon themselves. The topics at hand ranged from challenges within the regional film industry as well as advances in technology and how filmmakers have and will benefit from that. It was a discussion that was informative and expertly moderated by the lovely Lina Matta and me being the youngest filmmaker of the lot, I managed to voice a lot of things from that perspective.

Here are the four major takeways that I think filmmakers and artists should gather from the overall discussion:

Though movie night for couples usually ends up in watching a light-hearted romantic comedy most likely starring Ashton Kutcher or Matthew McConaughey, that’s a pretty safe and kind of boring choice to make. But that’s not you. You must be feeling more daring than that, right? Well, I’ve got 10 great off-beat choices here that would make date night more interesting.

Who are we kidding? These are absolutely terrible choices for a date night, despite almost all of them being excellent films on their own. Unless your significant other is a huge sport (in that case, marry her if you haven’t already), these great films are bound to end your night on a disappointing note. You might either be lauded for being unique and daring or you will not have a date anymore. It could go either way, but most likely the direction of the latter.

For others, take it as a warning because most of the movies below might seem very appealing for a date night choice from the cast and other elements involved. So thank me later.

Still interested? So here we go:

1. Hard Candy

What You’re In For – What starts as an intriguing date between a teenage girl and a charming older man quickly takes a turn for the disturbing as the teenager ties up the man and accuses him of pedophilia, followed by some serious torture as the film takes a turn for the intense. It’s a nail-biting thriller, but one that tackles themes that will definitely ruin your romantic night little by little until it reaches its bitter end.

Dubai International Film Festival is upon us, bringing a spectacular line-up of films from around the world for their 10th celebratory edition. Looking at the schedule can be daunting if you’re new to the festival, or if you generally want a quick guide to know what’s worth watching at the festival. I’ve spent a good amount of time going through the schedule and connecting my own research to what’s playing and as a result, this is the top 10 picks of the festival for me that you should definitely check out starting tomorrow.

1. Champ of the Camp

Plot – CHAMP OF THE CAMP is the first ever feature-length documentary filmed in the UAE’s labour accommodation. Told (and sung!) entirely in the voices of the labourers, it follows a Bollywood singing and trivia competition that takes place each summer in Dubai. The film chronicles the stories of characters such as Dhattu, a middle-aged Indian sweeper who is saving up for his daughters’ marriages, and Adnan, a Pakistani who excels in all things Bollywood and is proud of his work on the world’s tallest tower.

My Thoughts – This is really a landmark documentary that highlights the unsung heroes of UAE, and after a lot of behind the scenes troubles, documentary filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour was able to make this happen. It’s a happy film that perfectly fits into this year’s DIFF and one that none of us should miss.

After attending the screenings for 48 Hour Film Project Dubai last year, I was jealous that I didn’t take part in the madness (especially considering that I had a very cool idea for the elements last time). So I made sure that I assemble a team and we take part this year. And so I did.

As I went into the ballot box and my genre pick ended up being ‘Horror’, I was relieved because I had just come off Scrambled and this would be easier territory than say Musical. But the challenge wasn’t as easy as I had thought. Especially considering this year’s elements were – Character: Referee, Prop: Envelope, Line of Dialogue: Do you want to trade places? But after 48 hours, we had shot and finished a creepy little horror film called Cold Feet that was submitted in time. And not just that, we actually won four awards including Audience Award, Best Film – 2nd Runner Up, Most Promising Filmmaker and Best Use of Prop!

Here’s just a first look of the film. It’s more in the horror vein than Scrambled, and hopefully will be out by the end of the year. Cheers.